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Election Day Open Thread

It’s 6 a.m. and the polls are now open in the Commonwealth. What are you seeing and hearing? How does it compare to four years ago? Virtucon contributors are spread out throughout Virginia and we hope to be getting reports from various parts of the state throughout the day. Here’s your chance to share the Mitt-mentum that you are seeing!

I voted in Loudoun County in (I would judge to be) a Republican-leaning precinct (went GOP in 2009, 2010, and 2011). It was in a gym, so there were two lines forming to check in and the line extended out the door and down the sidewalk a good couple hundred feet or so. Lots of Romney/Ryan, Allen, and Wolf signs — only a few Obama/Biden and Kaine signs. I should also note that on my drive this morning I saw a lot of Republican signs and not a single Democrat sign on the roads in Loudoun. I’m feeling cautiously optomistic that Romney wins Virginia — even if it’s close.

Precinct 309, Bannister district at 9am this morning was relatively brisk. Typically, I breeze in and have a maximum of 2 people waiting, with no one really coming in after me. Today, however, the line was about ten people long, and incoming traffic, though not crowded, was quite regular.

One interesting thing: there were *NO* Obama/Biden yard signs outside! Only one for Tim Kaine, and all the rest (15 to 20) were for Romney/Ryan, George Allen, and Robert Hurt.

That pretty much goes for what I’ve been seeing this past month or so: VERY few Obama/Biden signs, even fewer Kaine, one or two for Douglass (who? LOL), and all very small and discrete compared to four years ago (except for one large Douglass sign south of Chatham). LOTS of R/R, Allen, and Hurt signs, and many of them LARGE!

Obama/Biden signs that i put up on open land in my development were stolen and R/R signs put up. Big corners in my area of Eastern PWC are owned by Republicans – we cant put our signns up on ‘their’ property!!

Ken, I feel sorry that signs put on open land in your development were taken down. By development, do you mean space like a common area in a homeowners association? If so, I can offer some insight into that – as it may be possible that the association’s board either removed it (or requested that it be removed). It’s likely that the HOA would have some sort of regulation against signs being placed on their property without prior permission.

If the signs that were taken were placed on your private property, then I’d say that represents a real problem – as it involves theft and trespass. It’s also unfortunate – as all should be free in this country to express their opinions, especially when it comes to placing a sign on their own private property.

Christopher Rankin – Thank you for your comment on the signs. Our HOA hasnt had a meeting in over 20 years, and while our community still looks good, absent such anti-sign reg – which i am sure exists – people do put up signs in open areas……i dont like it when the opposition takes my signs down and leaves their’s up!!! But, we won anyway!!!

Ken, just to add a couple more things for additional insight/clarification… As a member of my HOA board, I’ve removed two Obama campaign signs from our common property this campaign season. They were placed near the entrance of our community on HOA-owned and governed property, without our permission and not in accordance with our architectural standards, so they were removed.

During the campaign season, I have also caused removal of Obama campaigners knocking on doors on three separate occasions. They initially gave significant push-back to my order to leave, but eventually realized that the entire association (roads and sidewalks included) was private property with appropriate notices posted at all entrances – and that they would be arrested for trespass if they didn’t leave immediately. I had to pull the phone out and call the police to get one of them to leave, but he eventually left.

As for the Romney campaigners… well, they received offers of hot coffee/hot chocolate and cookies when they came to the door. :-)

Christopher – The intruders were obviously way out of line and did not understand the laws/regs…………….so you gave your fellow travellers coookies……..oh well, we won, you lost!!! now maybe all can work together……….

Howard – The property that I am talking about is jointly owned by the 100 homeowners. I am not sure the extentto which covenants govern their use. Normally i put my signs there for all to see and the signs are not touched.

Mom – Res Ipsa Loquitur – the well-to-do property owners tilt towards the republican ethic………….they are also the ones who will likely benefit the most by R/R policies. Fortunately, it is unlikely that they will prevail today!!!

Ken, any property jointly owned should stay non-partisan. I’m sure that the 100 homeowners includes some Republicans and Democrats. Same goes for public lands. No campaigning.

Perhaps if more Democrats learned more about how the private economy functions, and how real jobs are created (as opposed to expanding government with borrowed money and higher taxes) more Democrats would own such private property whereupon they could freely place their campaign signs.

As to the outcome tonight, I’m confident as you are, but in a different direction.

Voted in Tuckahoe precinct in Henrico this morning. Arrived at 7:00, the line was out the door to the parking lot, and also wrapped a distance inside. I’d say ~200 people were in line. Took me an hour plus to vote. Never waited longer than 5 minutes in the past. This precinct should go 70-30 Romney

In the People’s Republic of Arlington this morning, the poll lines were significantly shorter then they were in 2008. They were longer then in 2009 or 2010, but still drastically underperforming 2008 by at least 20%.

Roommate who just registered in Fairfax first commented on how gerrymandered the district seemed to be. He reported waiting right about a half hour and about 50-75 people there. Granted, our polling place seems like it’s for our apartment development. Regents Park. I assume it’s a pretty heavy Obama area. A lot of George Mason students live in our area.

Spotsy screws the pooch, invalidating 189 votes for the congressional races because the poll workers forgot to ask which CD the voters lived in, and the local GOP observers didn’t catch it. What a black eye.

My precinct is in Western Fairfax and has been purple since going for Obama in ’08. Hard to gauge turnout since I didn’t go before or after work, but instead went at 11am. Seemed steady but not heavy. If the polls are right, this area should go for O; if the gut feeling is right, then Romney. Anecdotally, in ’08 there were Democract walkers in our neighborhood 6 weeks before the election, and signs and bumper stickers everywhere, while I never saw a McCain worker and had 1 of the few stickers; this year we’ve received multiple door knocks, there are numerous Romney signs and stickers, and the number of O signs and stickers has decreased by more than half.

Purcellville (Mountain View Elementary) checking in… Lines were extremely short around 11am when I was there. Poll workers reported longer lines this morning before work (to be expected). I stuck around for about an hour, and witnessed a steady flow of 1-2 people at a time going in and out.

It seems as though the Obama campaign saved their sign budget for putting everything up around the polling location this year. The good news is that the polling location is about the only place I saw Obama campaign signs on the entire drive.

Poll workers were aware of rules and regulations, and enforcing them. They had traffic cones and chalk marks on the sidewalk showing campaigners the closest permissible location, and randomly came out to ensure compliance. (During my time there I witnessed 3 separate compliance checks.)

Poll workers were also aware of other rules. As a test, I asked whether or not we were permitted to take pictures of the actual ballots. They answered correctly, indicating that it was not allowed – but that taking a picture of the sample ballot outside the actual polling area was OK. They also accepted a voter registration card as ID (to be expected), and asked for recitation of registered address to further verify. No election workers or poll monitors inside the building were wearing any campaign attire, and all individuals were clearly identified with badges showing their position.

All considered, this appears to have been a location that was set up well, and is running well.

At 12:30 PM, it took me 52 minutes total to vote at Washington-Reid Elementary School in Prince William County, VA. After standing in the school hall outside of the voting room (the school cafeteria) for 30 minutes, and then waiting another 22 minutes once in the voting room, a young mother carrying an infant, pushing another one in a stroller, with two more little ones hanging on, came in the front door and immediately butted first in line. When people started to complain, she asked the Precinct Captain to let her go first “because of all her children”. He let her. She wasn’t handicapped. She wasn’t a disabled person. She wasn’t a wounded warrior. She was just a young mother with 4 little kids, and just because of that, she got to but in line and vote ahead of the 200 or so still waiting. She was obviously from the “me” generation.
While she was voting, I remembered there were a lot of other mothers and fathers, both young and “old” with infants and young kids, elderly folks (like me) with canes, and handicapped people in wheelchairs or on crutches who didn’t get the preferential treatment like that young mother had. We waited our turn in line like everybody else.
Then it hit me — she is representative of the Obma voter mentality, the “me first” and “I demand taxpayer’s money to pay all my personal and medical expense so I don’t have to work” generation. The rest of us who waited in the hall – the elderly, the handicapped, the other young mothers and fathers with children who didn’t ask for preferential treatment, are the real reason this election is so important.
Power to the People.

This is starting to look like an Obama rout. Wisc, Pa, Mich all fall to Obama early. Loudoun w 70 of 85 precincts in, Obama 51.7, Romney 46.8. Obama dead even in Fla (!?!), Ohio may fall soon. We may be in bed by 11.

Howard – I am aware that political signs should only be placed on private property. However, the practice is not adhered to and as you know, the practice devolves into whoever can get the most signs up anywhere. Just loook at PW Parkway